Oregon lacrosse travels to Denver this weekend in the Ducks’ first road games of the season. Oregon (0-1, 0-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) takes on Denver (0-2, 0-0 MPSF) today at 2 p.m. and No. 3-ranked Northwestern (1-0) on Saturday at 11 a.m.
The Ducks, coming off a 19-6 loss to Stanford in their inaugural game, will face a Pioneer squad looking to rebound from a tough opening weekend. Denver lost to Duquesne 12-10 and Duke 21-6 in its season’s debut games. Midfielder Steph Greenlees, an All-MPSF selection last year, leads the Pioneers’ offense. The junior from Lake Forest, Ill., led all Denver players in points (55) and goals (44) last year.
On Saturday, the young Oregon squad will test themselves against one of the nation’s best lacrosse programs. Northwestern, whose win came at the expense of No. 6-ranked North Carolina, opened the season ranked No. 3 in the country. The Wildcats came back from a 5-2 halftime deficit to defeat the Tar Heels, 6-5. For her efforts in shutting down North Carolina’s offense, Northwestern senior defender Courtney Koester was named Inside Lacrosse’s National Player of the Week. Earlier in the season, Koester and sophomore Kristen Kjellman were both named to the Tewaaraton Watch List. The Tewaaraton Trophy is similar to college football’s Heisman Trophy.
The trip to Colorado will serve as a homecoming for two Ducks. Freshman goalkeeper Allison O’Brien from Colorado Springs, Colo., and freshman midfielder Rachel Walkerfrom Littleton, Colo., a suburb of Denver.
The road trip begins a month-long stretch for the Ducks where they will be playing games every weekend. Following the Denver series, Oregon will return to Eugene for a three-week homestand, starting with MPSF rival UC Davis.

Beau Eastes is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald